Although exercise equipment that attaches to walls, doors, and other vertical surfaces is known in the prior art, these types of mounted exercise devices have not been fully optimized. Some examples of prior art wall or door mounted exercise devices include those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,057,370; 6,319,179; 6,267,711; 6,941,620; and U.S. Publication No. 2010/0048368. The inventors have improved on several dimensions of the prior art in this field.
For example, one problem with certain prior art devices is that the vertically mounted exercise equipment only provides for incremental adjustment of the height or spacing of certain aspects of the equipment. The system described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,057,370 discloses an apparatus having this problem. The wall mountable resistance apparatus in the '370 patent has a track that is mounted to a wall and a slide with a hook for attaching a band movable on the track. The slide is positioned on the track by inserting the plunger into one of a number of holes formed in the track. However, the slide may only be positioned along the track at the locations where there are holes in the track. This can prevent positioning of the slide at the most comfortable, effective or otherwise desirable spot. Further, the more holes the track has, the weaker the track will become and thus more prone to failure when being used.
Another challenge faced by the designers of the prior art devices is providing an efficient, yet strong, base for the exercise apparatus and an effective attachment to the substrate to which the apparatus is mounted. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,941,620 discloses an adjustable strap assembly wherein a strap is attached to a door, such as by wrapping it around a door, and a cord is attached to the strap by an adjustable fastener. One disadvantage of such an assembly is that when the cord is pulled during exercise, the strap will tend to pull away from the door. This pull is undesirable for a number of reasons. First, it decreases the effectiveness of the exercise. Second, when the cord is released and the fastener and strap return to the door, unnecessary and distracting noise is made. Third, when the strap and fastener are repeatedly pulled from and returned to the door, damage to the door can result. Another disadvantage of such an assembly is that the strap at the top and bottom of the door may make it difficult to open or close the door with the strap attached.
As such, there is a need for a mounted exercise apparatus that provides an efficient, yet strong connection to the vertical substrate to which it is mounted, as well as a sturdy connection between the apparatus and the straps, cords, bands, or other resistance elements used during exercise. It is similarly desirable to provide for the easy adjustment of continuous or infinite position settings, rather than pre-determined or incremental settings, for the various elements of the exercise apparatus. The inventors have improved on these and other aspects of the various prior art devices in this field.